Penn
State University Chamber Concert and Master Class including VIPAnthony McGillof the New York Philharmonic - VIPAnthony Costa,
Host
State College, Pennsylvania USA
15 January 2017
Senior
VIP and Renowned Clarinet Classical and Jazz Performer and Composer Paquita 'D Rivera bestowed
Richard Bogomolny National Service Award for his inspiration and educating
generations of musicians, with the Chamber Music America
15 January 2017
70th Anniversary
performance of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet
for the End of Time (first
premiered Jan. 15, 1941). - Ms Warren joined by colleagues Ben Sung,
violin, Jihye Chang Sung, piano, and Greg Sauer, cello, all from Florida State
University - Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan USA
Inspired in part by the Book of Revelations, it was composed while Messiaen and
the other three musicians were prisoners in a Nazi Labor camp. Messiaen was a
devout Catholic, and intensely spiritual. His near-obsession with bird calls
(and transcribing them) is evident in the piece, as is the synesthesia he was
known to experience (through chords of different “colors” and “ tangles of
rainbows"). His approach to “time” through meter and rhythmic treatment deviates
from tradition to such a degree that “The End of Time” refers to both
existential time, in a programmatic sense, and musical time.
Quartet for the End of Time by
Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992)
Liturgie de cristal, I. "Crystal liturgy”
Vocalise, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du
Temps, II. "Vocalise, for the Angel who announces the end of time”
Abîme des oiseaux, III. "Abyss of birds”
Intermède, IV. “Interlude"
Louange á l'Éternité de Jésus, V. "Praise to the
eternity of Jesus”
Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes, VI.
"Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets”
Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'Ange qui annonce
la fin du Temps, VII. "Tangle of rainbows, for the Angel who announces the
end of time"
Louange à l'Immortalité de Jesus, VIII. "Praise
to the immortality of Jesus”
14 January 2017
VIP and Solo Clarinetist in the
New York PhilharmonicAnthony McGill performs
World Premiere of Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra: From the Mountaintop by
Richard Danielpour (Commemerating Martin Luther King) with the Gateway Festival
Rochester Orchestra
Rochester, New York USA
Anthony
McGill interview with Fred Child
Clarinetist Anthony McGill is playing a new concerto where his
instrument's part is inspired by the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in an
iconic speech. The work is called Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra: From the
Mountaintop by Richard Danielpour.
Performance Today host Fred Child spoke to McGill about the
challenges and rewards of this new work.
FRED CHILD: Anthony McGill thank you so much for joining me.
ANTHONY MCGILL: Thanks for having me.
FC: This concerto by Richard Danielpour is not just a piece for
clarinet and orchestra. There's a really clear narrative and story line and
inspiration and even a clear role for what you represent as the solo clarinet in
this piece. What is your role as the soloist?
AM: Well, talking to Richard about this piece before he finished it,
we sat down together and met quite a few times to discuss kind of some of his
history with wanting to write a piece like this. And so the clarinet represents
kind of a figure like a preacher in a church like in a Southern Baptist church.
He wanted to represent it like this as a preacher or speaker even, at moments,
to kind of represent represent Dr. Martin Luther King giving a speech or a
sermon in a church. So these kind of images come to mind when using the clarinet
part as a kind of voice in the pulpit kind of singing at times, crying at times,
wailing at other times and just kind of evoking these sorts of emotions that one
thinks of when one thinks of the civil rights movement in general.
FC: So how do you as the clarinet soloist embody this voice? The
Southern Baptist preacher and at times embody the sound of Dr. King. How do you
embody that as a performer?
AM: Well this there is a lot of deep history there and I think
Richard with his interactions with the different people affiliated with the that
movement really captures some of the soul of the spirit of this time of this of
this time in America and the voice of the clarinet he uses in such a way that it
is really soulful and really full of emotion at many different--you know at the
extremes of emotion, sadness, happiness of kind of dance music or solemn prayer.
All of these things, he uses the clarinet specifically in a way that makes it
really easy to kind of hear that in the voice. And as a performer, you know,
this is what we dream of we dream of: having a piece where we can express fully
or at least as close as we can get to something that is something that is real,
something that is human and beautiful. And to actually capture the moments in
the piece that he captures captures the struggle the kind of pain involved in
all of this. And I think he does a beautiful job with that.
FC: The piece is subtitled from the mountaintop. And that's a
reference to April 3rd 1968 the final speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Have
you gone back and watched the video or listened to the audio of that speech as
part of getting ready to play this piece?
AM: Yes I did listen to this speech in particular. Richard and I
talked about this speech numerous times and it affects the performance for sure.
There's one moment in the piece that you can hear. It's kind of the slow
movement. That's kind of a duet between the timpani and the clarinet and the
piece is all done in one movement basically one continuous kind of sound. But
there are different movements. And in this movement you can hear the timpani
kind of representing the thunder that you can hear slightly in the background
during the speech. And this feeling of foreboding and thinking about what's
going to happen in the near future to Dr. King. And I think it's a really
poignant and beautiful moment and this speech is so powerful and so so moving
because you know he kind of speaks about about the future and how it almost
sounds like he knows that he's already sacrificed his life for this struggle.
And it's a really effective thing to him if you do get a chance to to listen to
it and then to to listen to the piece because I think it really ties in
amazingly to the effectiveness of the piece and to the kind of sad little piece
the piece is terribly sad and sorrowful at times and yet so beautiful and
peaceful at other times. So it is really important speech to connect the piece
with them.
FC: Anthony you mentioned that Dr. King during this mountaintop
speech seems to have a sense of what was coming and I want to play a little clip
for you about 30 seconds from this speech and then talk about how that connects
with the music that Richard Danielpour wrote. Here's just a moment from this
mountaintop speech by Dr. King.
MLK: And I've seen the promise man. I may not get there with you. But
I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land!
FC: That was almost 50 years ago and it hasn't lost any power over
those past 50 years. I mean that still makes my hair stand on end to hear the
emotion in his voice. The connection with the congregation there in Memphis and
knowing what happened shortly after that. How does that sound, how does that
speech and maybe even that moment in that speech, how does that connect with the
music that Richard Danielpour wrote?
AM: This is it's very emotional to listen to that, you know,
especially even just a tiny little clip of it because you can hear in his voice
a certain kind of musicality in the way he spoke. And a lot of really great
people that give speeches and a lot of great speakers and preachers have this
musicality in their sound of their voices and especially they have what is very
clear which is a distinct emotion in that sound that affects you immediately.
And as a as a performer this is exactly what you're trying to do as a
musician to communicate this sort of fire, this sort of passion, this sort of,
this sort of pain and the soulfulness and this emotion and this musicality of
the voice, this is the thing that moves people. That moves people to do things
that are very dangerous for them to try to change their own lives. And I think
you know as a musician trying to communicate through your instrument to an
audience is a very similar thing. That's what were the ultimate goal is to is to
connect with an audience in the way that Dr. King connected with a whole
generation of people, of movement of people, to try to change their lives for
the better. And this voice still resonates very very loudly and very strongly
today to hopefully continue to help us move forward. And like I said try to get
to that mountaintop. It's basically a constant struggle to improve our lives, to
improve mankind. And I think that his voice rings louder than ever today and
through this piece, through music, through different voices, I mean I think we
can all continue this struggle and continue moving forward to become you know
greater people, greater humans.
FC: Anthony we'd just heard a moment from Dr. King's Speech April
1968 the mountaintop speech. He's talking about, 'I may not get there with you,'
but he makes this promise that we will get to the promised land. Is there a
particular moment in Danielpour's piece that echoes that moment of the speech?
AM: I think there are moments of... There are peaks and valleys in
the piece that are actually very interesting. And I mean just to kind of give a
little bit of a summary of certain aspects of this, at the beginning of the
piece, it starts off with a very high note kind of solo clarinet line. And it
starts to go down actually in scope and it's very soft but very high and we
start to calm down. And I think this is kind of in a way it's symbolic for me of
where we're starting from, where we're trying to... the hope of the top of the
mountain top. And as we go down we can travel through these different harmonies
and to kind of start of them the movement. You hear these dance rhythms and
things. And then in the middle as I mentioned with the timpani writing and the
speech in the middle you have this moment. But towards the end of the piece I
will say there is some of the most beautiful writing ever written for clarinet.
Where you don't know that we have gotten there but you do know that with the
beauty of this music that there is hope in the soun. And in its sadness it
reveals that there is progress and yet there is a moment where he does say you
know he may not get there with you but you can hear it in this music that there
is such hope for continuing to move up in that direction. And some of the
highest points of the piece are later on in the work where you do feel this
lightness of being as though you're being lifted. And it is these are wonderful
moments. You'll know exactly where in the piece I'm talking about this when you
listen to it.
FC: Anthony I know you've got to go here in just a second but you've
played this piece several times I wonder if there was anything unique about
playing it at the Gateways Festival.
AM: Yes. The Gateways Festival is a wonderful festival and the
musicians are African-American musicians and I got to solo with them. I believe
that was last year with this piece, From the Mountaintop. And it was a really
amazing moment in time. And to kind of understand the history... And even every
person on that stage has some history, you know just being African-American
musicians, classical musicians specifically, to be able to play this piece about
our history and our present was a wonderful, wonderful honor. And I think that
there was this feeling that everyone could understand based on that history of
experience in our families and in our communities. And it made for an especially
moving performance I believe.
FC: Anthony McGill principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic
and soloist in this performance of From the Mountaintop, the Concerto for
Clarinet and Orchestra by Richard Danielpour and the man Richard Daniel poor
wrote this piece for. Anthony McGill thank you so much for speaking with me.
The main auditorium of the new state-of-the-art
Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg. (Photo: Elbphilharmonie)
Stepping inside the main auditorium of Hamburg's new $843
million Elbphilharmonie concert hall is akin to visiting the set of an
elaborate science-fiction film. The 2,150-seat architectural wonder
features undulating curves, 1,000 artfully-placed hand-blown light
bulbs, and an organ disguised as a trellis within the room's walls. To
reduce both vibrations and outside interference, the auditorium itself
is structurally separate from the remainder of the building, enclosed in
a kind of spring-loaded cocoon.
And, of course, there's its stunning suspended reflector:
While all of these features greatly contribute to the concert
hall's world-class sound, its the 1 million unique seashell-shaped
divots embedded throughout that truly bring it all together. Called
parametric design, these acoustically-active pockmarks absorb and
scatter sound on the hall's 10,000 acoustic panels. Even more
incredible, they were all precisely generated by a computer algorithm.
“It would be insane to do this by hand,” Benjamin Koren, who
developed the acoustic algorithm, told Wired. Working with famed acoustician
Yasuhisa Toyota, Koren and his team at the firm One to One, created a
sound map of the auditorium and had a computer generate the grooved
panels needed to make it a reality.
“That’s the power of parametric design,” he says. “Once all
of that is in place, I hit play and it creates a million cells, all
different and all based on these parameters. I have 100 percent control
over setting up the algorithm, and then I have no more control.”
A view of the unique divots that dot each of the
10,000 acoustic panels within the Elbphilharmonie's main concert hall.
(Photo: One to One)
Each of the divots, measuring between four to 16 centimeters
across, has a role in shaping the sound produced by the auditorium.
Their depth, size and angle are all influenced by their placement within
the space and proximity to either the orchestra or the audience.
“Here I could literally demonstrate my passion for precision
and put it into real effect”, Koren said in a news release.
According to DW music editor Rick Fulker,
who attended Elbphilharmonie's opening concert on Jan. 11, the acoustic
characteristics of the space create an immersive experience.
"From my vantage point, the stage was far below, but despite
the distance from the source of the music, I had the sensation of
sitting amidst it," he writes. "That sound is so mercilessly clear that
one is tempted to analyze it, so I turned my attention readily from one
orchestral voice or instrumental group to the next. When played solo,
single instruments are 100 percent vivid."
While experiencing the concert hall's exquisite sound is
something only truly possible in-person, you can see what it's like to
sit in the Elbphilharmonie's grand hall below.
5 - 8 January 2017
Norddeutsche Klarinettentage
Bremen, Germany
7 January 2017
Effortless Oboe and Clarinet Recital with World Premiere of composer Joe
Locastrio - Senior VIPRichard
Nunemaker,
Director - University of St Thomas,
Houston, Texas
USA
5 - 7 January 2017
Boston Symphony
Concerto Concert with soloists including William Hudgins and Michael Wayne
performing Krommer Double Clarinet Concerto
Boston, Massachusetts USA
Ken-David Masur, conductor Cynthia Meyers, piccolo
William R. Hudgins, clarinet
Michael Wayne, clarinet
Thomas Rolfs, trumpet
Toby Oft, trombone
James Sommerville, horn
Michael Winter, horn
Rachel Childers, horn
Jason Snider, horn
VIVALDI -
Piccolo Concerto in C, RV 443 (12 min)
KROMMER - Concerto No. 2 for two clarinets and orchestra, Op. 91 (20 min)
JOLIVET - Concertino for trumpet, piano and strings (9 min)
ROTA - Trombone Concerto (13 min)
SCHUMANN - Concert Piece for four horns and orchestra (18 min)
Soloists from the ranks
of the Boston Symphony Orchestra take center stage in this highly unusual,
far-ranging program led by BSO Assistant Conductor Ken-David Masur. BSO
piccoloist Cynthia Meyers performs Vivaldi's delightful Piccolo Concerto in C.
BSO principal clarinet William Hudgins and clarinetist Michael Wayne are
soloists in Franz Krommer's 2nd Double Clarinet Concerto Op 91.
Jacksonville Symphony review: Mozart and McGill are best of
friends
Mozart penned his clarinet concerto
quickly, writing for Anton Sadler’s signature instrument, a basset clarinet.
This was a modified clarinet that could play lower than a normal one.
The score was handed to Stadler around the start of
October 1791, the ink still slightly wet. Mozart gave his friend instructions
and cash to travel to Prague and premiere the concerto at a benefit concert
there, which he did, butaudience and critics were not hugely impressed. Had they
heard Anthony McGill play Mozart’s famous concerto, they would have exploded
with cheers at the end of his playing, as did the audience at last night’s
performance.
McGill is principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic. His playing is
seamless and his sound is woven of the finest silk. He changes registers,
especially low to high, with such facility as to drop the jaw of the listener.
Stadler may have played the concerto first, but Mozart wrote it for McGill. His
interpretation of Mozart’s melodic lines is ultrasensitive, delivering each note
with impeccable control and dynamic finesse. I have heard clarinetists the world
over, but never have I been so captivated as by the playing of McGill. The
Jacksonville Symphony musicians too were so inspired by McGill’s playing that
they sought to match his style of presentation and accompanied him with a
classical grace.
Senior VIP and Renowned Solo
KlarinettistKarl Leister,
Solo Klarinettist in the Berliner Philharmoniker under Herbert von Karajan and
Claudio Abbado, marks his 60th Year as Professional Klarinettist with a
remarkable career including Solo and Chamber Music appearances worldwide and
over 100 recordings